Knowing how to store and back up your research data is key to good research. It ensures security, compliance, and can help prevent any unforeseen accident that could adversely impact your project. UB researchers have access to secure, networked, and backed-up data storage that is far more reliable than makeshift solutions like a flash drive, external hard drive, or keeping everything on one computer. Backup your data responsibly with UB provided resources.
Once your project is complete, your data should be placed in a repository for long term storage. See our good practices for choosing a repository for more information.
The University at Buffalo offers several secure and convenient storage options tailored to different needs and data types.
| Storage Service | Recommended For | Key Features |
|---|---|---|
| UBbox | General purpose storage for academic and university-related documents. Suitable for Category 1 data with specific configurations in place. | Cloud-based, accessible from anywhere, easy file sharing and collaboration. |
| Microsoft OneDrive | Similar to UBbox, ideal for individuals who frequently use Microsoft 365 applications. | Seamless integration with Microsoft Office apps, real-time collaboration. |
| SENS Home Directories | Students, faculty, and staff with SENS accounts for smaller, personal file storage. | Network-attached storage with regular backups provided by the Science and Engineering Node Services. |
| Myfiles (UBfs) | Central file service for students, faculty, and staff, accessible on and off-campus. | Provides a personal network drive for storing academic and personal files. |
| Project Lockbox | Faculty can have up to 2GB storage on a special disk subsystem where data will be stored securely and backed up regularly. | Network-attached storage with regular backups provided by the Science and Engineering Node Services. |
| UB Github | GitHub is a powerful collaboration, code review, and code management system for open source and private projects. Git is the version control system. GitHub is a hosting service for Git repositories. UB hosts a private GitHub Enterprise instance for use by students, faculty, and staff. | The system is intended for source code, configurations, and scripts. It is not intended to be a bulk storage system. GitHub's primary use is to track changes to text based source code. The system itself is protected by normal virtual machine backup routines. Repositories can be private, shared with specific UB users, or shared publicly. |
| Faculty, students, staff who have High Performance Computing needs (HPC) and need shared storage for projects, research groups, or courses. | 1TB provided free to UB faculty, additional storage purchasable. Global scratch temporary storage--10TB free, but not backed up--that is used for short-term processing, not long-term storage of valuable data. |
Regularly backing up your data is your best defense against data loss due to hardware failure, accidental deletion, or cyberattacks. UBIT provides robust backup and restore services to safeguard your information.
For data stored on university-managed systems backups are typically performed automatically by UBIT. This provides a baseline of protection for your files.
While automated backups are in place for central services, you are ultimately responsible for the data on your personal devices. Here are some best practices for backing up your local files: